Stuck On You

4.

Steve sat on Peggy's couch, gazing out the window at the steadily lowering sun.

I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend.

You're my mission.

Then finish it. Because I'm with you... till the end of the line.

He put his head in his hands, wishing the whirlwind of memories would stop. Over and over he pictured Bucky falling from that train, their hands barely inches apart.

Do you know me?

You're Steve. I read about you in a museum.

I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying.

You pulled me from the river. Why?

I don't know.

Yes you do.

He growled quietly, clawing at his hair with his hands. He didn't catch Bucky. It was his fault. Everything that happened to Bucky, it was all on him. And now he was doing nothing to stop it. This time, he actually had a choice. But he was sitting here instead.

Steve.

Which Bucky am I talking to?

Your mom's name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.

Can't read that in a museum.

He had to do something. Sitting around and thinking was doing him no good, and it was going to drive him crazy.

How about you? You ready to follow 'Captain America' into the jaws of death?

Hell no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight...

I'm following him.

It was like his mind was telling him to get up and do something about Bucky, instead of wishing he had never fallen off the train.

But you're keeping the outfit, right?

You know what? It's kind of growing on me.

Steve stood up suddenly and began to pace around on the rug in front of him. He drew in deep, shaking breaths as he tried to focus and clear his mind. He needed a plan, or at least something to stop him from going completely insane. As far as he knew, Bucky could be anywhere. He assumed Zola's men had pulled him from the trench where he fell off the train, but he had no idea where they took him after that.

"Steve? Are you alright? Why are you still up?" A voice from behind him questioned. Startled, he turned around, facing Peggy in a nightgown.

"I'm okay. Just couldn't sleep, that's all," He replied, trying to hide the pain that he assumed was clearly showing in his eyes.

"Tell me what's bothering you."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me."

"Steve, you and I both know it's not nothing. Sometimes the best thing to do is just to get it all out in the open."

Steve sat back down on the couch, running a hand through his hair to try and calm himself down. He chewed his bottom lip contemplatively, trying to figure out how he could explain to Peggy what he was going through.

"You remember Sergeant James Barnes, right? My best friend? Who fell off that fucking train when we were trying to capture Zola?"

"Of course I do." Peggy said softly, somewhat shocked by his choice in language.

"He's still alive. And in the future, he gets captured by Zola again. Brainwashed, trained... turned into a lethal machine. I can't even the amount of torture he must have gone through. But now... I have the chance to stop that all from happening. But instead I'm sitting here."

Peggy sat down next to Steve and placed her hand on his comfortingly. "I remember how much pain his death caused you. You blamed yourself. His fall took the man who didn't want to kill anyone and turned him into the man who would stop at nothing to avenge his other half. And if he really is still alive... I think you owe it to yourself to try and save him. I'm sure he'd do the same for you."

"You're right. I'm gonna save him."

A/N: this is a really short chapter but all the flashbacks are cinematically correct so that's pretty cool. also it seems like its moving pretty fast but don't worry its definitely not gonna be quite as easy as it seems haha